College of the Sea

Distance learning tuition for British seafarers
with the Royal Navy and the merchant service

In partnership with the National Extension College, the College of the Sea offers a range of supported self-study opportunities for seafarers at GCSE and A Level.

The Marine Society College of the Sea, through which GCSE and A Level tuition is provided, is a Learning & Skills Council (LSC) funded college.

As such it is subject to regular public inspections by the UK's Adult Learning Inspectorate and its students can be assured that its management and quality assurance arrangements meet the rigorous standards set for all other public sector colleges in the UK.

We provide tuition to serving personnel of the Royal Navy and the British Merchant Navy.

The latter includes the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the fishing industry, and the offshore support industry.

The courses we provide are exactly the same whatever.

But because Royal Navy personnel are entitled to study through the Standard Learning Credit scheme, there are slightly different administrative arrangements for enrolling RN personnel.

That is why we have different sets of information online:

Royal Navy
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
British Merchant Navy

A Levels are currently changing. If you're considering enrolling on an A Level course then it's important you read about the changes here.